Propeller



@1l M. Lemieux;

PROPELLER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 7, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

gyn/vento@ l Jom .Lemieux attozmg A l. M. LEMIEUX.

PROPELLER.

APPLICATION FILED mm1. 192|.

l ,387,4 1 6 Patented Aug. 9, 1921.

. atbozmu 1 OEBATH, MAINE. A

orifice.ff

i ri'orELLnn.

- Application' flied March 7,

To all 'whom t magno/acera B'e it known that I, JOHNv M. Lniurnuma citizenfof the United States; residing at i Bath, in the county oflSagadahoc and-State of Maine,l have invented certain ,new #and useful Improvements in Propellers, of which the following is a specification. f

My said invention relates to a propeller and driving means thereforl intended pril-V marily forq marine use but= not limited thereto, since'the device may evidently also be applied as a driving means for airplanes,

' and is adaptedforusevin various situations tion of power.

and fora variety ofA purposes. f

It is an object of my invention to provide a device of this sort which shall run easily and shall operate with very little applica- A furtherobject of my invention is yto provide a propeller iiniiwhich the head resistance shall be diminished substantially to the van-` ishing point.

" Y j Fig. 2, a sideview of thes'ame,

l Another object of mylinvention is to provide a propeller which shall becapablefof running at any required speed without producing any cavitaton effect. f

fReferring to the accompanying drawings which are made a part hereof vand on which similar reference characters indicate similar paris, -Y Figure y1 isa plan ofaportionof a ship embodying myimp'rovements,

Fig. 3, a longitudinal vsection on of Fig. 1, and 1 A Fig. 4, av transversesectionon line P-Lof In the drawingsl() indicates the hull of a ship having a-driving'shaft'll which supports a wheel 12, preferably in the form of a grooved pulley, though my invention is not necessarily limited thereto. Y

In the embodiment shown a round belt or cable or rope 13 engages a groove in the pulley and passes from thence through an opening in one of the duplicate propeller line 3 3 casings 14, thence around a propeller 15,

across to the other propeller 15, around the same and back to the pulley 12. The propeller casings Mare supported in any convenient manner at'any preferred position on or with reference to the hull and I have Y shown themas being supported at opposite sides of the keel 16'by means of braces 17V and 18. The manner and 'position of support are not of the essence of my inventionl speciation of Letters raient.

n .'PtentedAilg. 9", 197.21', y. seril No.. f 1

fand'may'lbe varied in accordance with the y needs ofV the `particular case. In 'certain situations it will be 'possible to drive with a single.. propeller as on a small boat and :in some'instance's itwill be necessary to support the propellers] at some distance from the body of the vessel. It'may also be dey sirable in some instances to useotherdriving means Vfor the propeller though 1 prefer the driving means herein illustrated.

The propeller 15 comprisesanexternal' v casing 19, a single continuous screw blade 20 and centralsupporting'rneans 21.l The latterv is preferablyr in theV form ofv a hollow cylinder and both'this cylinder and .the cas- While Fhave shown a hollow cylindrical 'support-for tube 21 I do not limit myself thereto, as it willbe apparent that the same ing 19 arerigidly connected to the blade 20.

7.5 i may take other forms, it being essential only Y that there shall be a central Iopening inthe propellerl while at the same time the blade must bere'ntrally` supported.` Theadvantage' of the central opening is that whereas in the ordinary propellerfa volumei'of water `must be pushed ahead of the .propellershafn in my device this waternslips throughthje central opening without` offering aiiyresistL ance to the progress 'of the-vessel." Neither is it-essential that the impelling means be a single blade as a plurality of blades may be substituted and they may ktake various forms. It will be seen thatthe phenomenon of cavitation vvillfnotv occur in this Vdevicefas `the water cannot escape from thepropeller,

being confined by the outerY casing. kThe `blade 20 is of uniform thickness at allg-points so as to 1 offer f a minimumi resistance to passage through the water and preferably extends at an angle between the cylinders 19 and 21 to secure the maximum propelling l yeffect and at the same tiniebrace the con- ,centric cylinders effectively. In its progress through the water the blade will cut into a cylindrical volume of water and work its way through the same on the principle of f an auger, causing lvery little disturbance in the water and having to overcome correspondingly little resistance.`

On the outer periphery of the casing are xed the inner race members of a pair of ballfthrust bearings 22, the outer race members being attached to the casing 14. Other forms of thrust-bearings may be substituted for lthev ball-thrust bearing if desired. I

iio

valso provide annular packing of any desired v pressing on the outside of the casing 14 and retarding the passage of the propeller throughV the water. 1 l

A pair of anges 27 are fixed to the casing, leaving a groove between them for the cable 13. The number of flanges `may be increased. if desired to provide for additional driving cables. In the embodiment shown the opening 28 in each casing14, through which the cables 13 enter-the casing, is adjacent to and inclosed by thewall of, theI hull structure 10., j 1 e It will be seen that my propeller is not subject to the ordinary limitations `as. to speed, and it will be particularly useful fin connection with turbine engines, since it will operate effectively whatever the speed of the engine may be. i

I may modify the structure of the device and detailsthereof in various ways. It will be obvious that the device shown andA described may be modified in various ways withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, and while specific terms are employed in the claims, they are so employed V for purposes of description and not `for limitation. Y y l Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A propeller :comprising linipelling means, supporting means for 'the outer edges thereof, and a tubular support for the inner edges of said impelling means allowing free passage of the water therethrough, substantially as set forth.

2. A propellervcomprising blades, an outer e casing attachedvthereto, and a tubular support for the inner edges ofthe blades allowingfree passage of water therethrough, substantially as set forth. l

y 3. A propeller comprising blades, an outer casing attached thereto, a tubular support for the inner edges'v of the blades allowing free passage ofl watervtherethrough, andv means on the outer casing for` driving the propeller, substantially as set forth.

4.l A lpropeller comprising blades, an outer casing attachedkthereto, and a tubular support for theinner edges of the blades allow- 1 l ingffree passage offwater-therethrough, a

fixed casing kabout the rotary casing having inturned flanges at its outer ends', annular paclrings betweensaid flanges and said propeller, and bearings on the iixedacasing supporting the rotary casing. e l n 5. VIn a propulsion device, a pair vof A propellers, each comprising arotary casing having central grooves, a central cylinder, and

impelling means betweenthe casing and'gcyl- -i inder and! rigidly connected to both, a grooved driving pulley, and driving cables engaging the grooves of the pulley and the rotary casings, the cables extending about the pulley, then. about thecasings in` succession and then 'back to the'pulley, substantially asv set forth.

v`6. Ina ship, a pair ofcylindrical grooved propellers at opposite sides of the keel and Vadjacent thestern, a` fixed casing inclosing each propeller, a driving shaft, `a Lgrooved pulley thereon, a Acable extendingifrom the pulleytothe propellers through openings the bottom of the ship and 'engaging in grooves in saidpulley and pr0pellers,ys`aid cable vpassing about the pulley, thence tothe propellers in succession and then back tothe pulley, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Washin ton, District of Columbia, this iifth day ofarchfA. D. nineteen hundred, and twenty-one. l

. JOHN M. LnMnaUX. [L el] 'in the casings infregster with openings 1n y 

